Customer Reviews
Seroiusly annoying heroine - By: J. Cooper, 18 Nov 2008 
Mira is a nightwalker or vampire, over 600 years old, ruling/responsible for a chunk of the American south. How she managed not to get knocked off within that 600 years is astounding. In this novel Mira comes up against Danaus, silent, brooding, built like a Roman soldier (unsurprisingly it turns out) who first of alll tries to kill her then works with her to overcome the nasty naturi. Unfortunately Mira's common response to mention of the naturi & just about every other problem is to have incredibly girly hysterics. That & the fact that this book just isn't very well written - if I read once I read 5 times about her heels clcking as she strides along - make this a very average novel for this genre. The only good parts were the Machu Pichu & Egypt references. I certainly wouldn't pay full price for the second one in the series as it just isn't worth it. Finallly, another review I read compared it to Suzanne Mcleod's 'The Sweet Scent of Blood' which is in fact so much better. Disappointing.
quality start to a book series - By: Mrs. Lynn Tulloch, 10 Nov 2008 
I am not going to give you any inclination as to what this book is about. Other people before me have provided a brief synopsis.
All I can say is that the characters are amazing, the plot kept me on the edge of my seat & I hope for many many more.
Enjoyable new series - By: Helen Hancox, 26 Oct 2008 'Nightwalker' is the first of the 'Dark Days' series & was a reallly enjoyable beginning with a slightly different take on the common vampire/vampire hunter theme.
Mira is a vampire, over 600 years old, who has been living quietly in the New World for over a century. She's rather unusual in that she has elemental mastery over fire & has the nickname 'the Fire Starter'. When she discovers that a mysterious human vampire hunter, Danaus, has been picking off vampires in her area, she decides to sort him out. She very quickly discovers that Danaus isn't your average human & also that he's not actuallly trying to kill her - at least not at the moment. Danaus shows her evidence that an evil race, the naturi, are regathering & are planning to destroy both vampires & humans. But what role does Mira have to play? Do events five hundred years ago in her past mean that she may be more important to the naturi than she realises?
I reallly enjoyed reading this book with its different layers. The relationship between Mira & Danaus was excellently written as they both begin to see through their prejudices & to begin to look at each other differently. The author kept us guessing about how things would work out in the book although I did feel that perhaps not quite enough threads were completed when I had finished this first episode. I also felt that the vampires' fear of the naturi seemed rather over the top when the naturi appeared relatively easy to dispatch, at least for Mira & Danaus. Nonetheless this was a good book with an interesting world of vampire behaviour & a mysterious hero.
Originallly published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008
A slow burner... - By: Elizabeth, 13 Oct 2008 
I picked up this book because I am a fan of anything dark & paranormal, & NIGHTWALKER by Jocelynn Drake certainly looked like it wouldn't disappoint.
However, I found that the beginning of the novel was rather...pretentious. Maybe I've read too many novels where the protagonist is a self-depreciating, but ultimately arse-kicking female, & have gotten used to the dry humour. Don't get me wrong, I have still given this book 4 stars, & it is still worth a read - actuallly I would say even more so, because it managed to convince me to shift it from my No Good pile to my Need to Read the Sequal pile!
The Heroine of this novel is Mira, a Nightwalker; that's a vampire to me & you, but not only that, she has been one for thousands of years, & is actuallly a big shot in the vampire world. She can certainly look after herself, & often when she goes to deal with a situation on her land with a rogue vampire, as soon as she mentions her name you see cocky vampires suddenly gulping & looking for the nearest exit...I have to say I did enjoy the fact that she was a Heroine who truly did not need 'rescuing' in any shape or form. However, I have now come to realise that perhaps that was what my issue with the beginning of the novel is...not counting the cringe-worthy cliches such as: "His cloak swirled around him like a pack of baying dogs". Okay, yes we know he dangerous...but anyway, at the beginning of the novel, even though it is nice to see her strutting her stuff, she is almost too much like a vampire. Cold, bloodthirsty, & blood lust means just that: she needs to watch out she doesn't rip someone's throat out. So for anyone looking for a stronger romantic element, don't be fooled by the lack of clothes on the front cover, I would say the romance takes a definite backseat in this novel. (although there is some - much to my relief! I do like dark & gothic & gory, but there has to be some fun parts as well)
I realised that I started to like this book - it's when Mira has a mini breakdown, has to rely on the brooding mysterious man by her side (the hero of the novel - a vampire hunter who she forms a brief stalemate with for the purpose of hunting the greater evil - the Naturi). This disturbed me a little bit; maybe what I reallly like is the helpless female?? But anyway, after her little breakdown were she stops smiling coldly & imagining how she will kill the hunk (No! the reader cries; he's your best bet for getting laid!), & shows some fear/self-doubt/anger etc etc, I realised I could emphasis with her more because she seemed more human.
Now, I don't know if this was down to poor plotting & character development, or a clever ploy on the authors part; make the heroine stong, fiesty & a little cold/emotionallly retarded, put her through some trials, almost kill her once or twice, hit her with some devastating emotional baggage from her past & Hey Presto! You have a new softer lovable character who can still kick some Naturi butt. (another of my slight issues - for creatures who basicallly look like hairy humans, I couldn't understand the fear they installled - vampires were literallly hitting the ground running after just hearing the name, & Mira & her hunky hunter struggled to survive an attack by 4 of them at the beginning of the novel, & yet at the end they are suddenly able to pick them off left right & center. Maybe I missed something)
However, I think it is testament to the novel that I was still willing to give it 4 stars, more than willing in fact, despite alll these inconsistencies in my mind. I'm putting them down to teething issues for Drake, as it was her first novel, & am eagerly looking forward to the sequal. Give the book a chance, don't be put off by the front cover & my review!
I would recommend for fans of the BLOOD TIES series (a very good series too if you haven't read it yet) & anything vampire related!
Good book - By: Grant A. Claughton, 28 Sep 2008 I'd seen this on Amazon, but it was actuallly reading the first few pages in a bookstore that made me buy it, plus the blurb from Kim Harrison.
Overalll, it reads very well. Lots of action, but generallly well formed without the feel its their for its own sake. i.e. alll the action is 'justified'. The characters are compelling, & become moreso with the passage of the book, & there are quite a number of plot twists. The feel is reasonably dark, with a lot of moral ambiguity - not so much on the part of the characters themselves, but certainly in the world they exist in & the power structures they support. And the authour is certainly willing to let the characters get hurt a bit.
There's a potential relationship forming with the main character, but wouldn't be surprised at alll if it didn't turn out.
And its a bit longer (smalller writing) than a lot of the urban fantasy out there (Kim Harrison & Mike Carey besides!), so that is nice too. Thouroughly recommend. Has a similar feel to both those authours, & to a degree with Lilith Saintcrow.
